How to Install a Drip Irrigation Head Assembly (Beginner's Guide)

[@TheOriginalMarimoChan]

One of the most comprehensive videos I have found on KZbin. I love the simple graphics and the very informative content.

[@jeffcardinal5434]

I have bought two of the tree kits for hedges and bushes. THEY ARE AMAZING! Especially paired with a WiFi water timer. Great products.

[@Daedal71]

We have very hard water, so a calcium filter will probably be very necessary (we have to use one on our misting system, or it gets clogged with hard water deposits). Where in the assembly would i add this? Thank you for your time.

[@dripdepot]

A calcium filter will typically come just before the mesh screen filter, so you'd have an order similar to this: Spigot --> Timer (optional) --> Backflow Preventer --> Calcium Inhibitor --> Mesh Filter --> Pressure Regulator --> Hose x Tubing Adapter --> Tubing Run. That order keeps the calcium from building up in the downstream components -- you might need to clean your backflow preventer a little more often since it needs to be placed before the rest, but a good vinegar solution soak can typically get them cleaned without much trouble :)

[@Daedal71]

@@dripdepot Glad I asked, because I would have put it AFTER the mesh filter! Thanks!

[@dougbas3980]

Very helpful and clear. Thanks

[@dripdepot]

You've very welcome, and thank you for watching as well!

[@clashwithkeen]

I wish I had known about the silicone tape thing. Guess I'm going out to remove it in the morning.

[@paulndungu8001]

Great set up. If the setup had a fertigation component e.g. mix rite, that demandend more pressure than what is coming out of your pressure reduction component, would you relocate the pressure reducer to the downstream part of the fertigation component? That way the fertigation component can utilize the existing high pressure from the source. You already have a back flow preventer so no risk is involved.

[@dripdepot]

You have it exactly right -- If I needed more pressure than what's coming out of the regulator, I'd likely move the regulator downstream of the injector. This would work well since regulators only regulate downstream pressure -- you also have it exactly right that the water source would be secure since the backflow preventer would still be upstream of the injector component. Depending on the injector I'm using, I do try to install them downstream of the regulator just to help them have a long life -- a lot of them now can operate at very low pressure. One of our most popular MixRites, the 570CW can operate as low as 2.9 PSI -- it wouldn't be ideal to operate that low, but 15 to 25 PSI still gets great results from them :) Great insights as usual from you, thank you sincerely!

[@Tara-sf7uu]

I once tried to use a ventiri siphon to fertigate and it constantly pumped water into the fert container, could it be bc I had it upstream from the pressure reducer?

[@dripdepot]

@@Tara-sf7uu Sincere apologies for the late reply on this one! KZbin doesn't send notifications for replies within a reply, I was just browsing comments when I bumped into this one. You've probably got it all sorted by now, but just in case: You are correct, having it right before the pressure regulator could potentially cause symptoms like this -- the interactions between injectors and downstream regulators can be a bit unpredictable. Having it installed in reverse could also cause this, as the necessary pressure differential wouldn't be generated to create the vacuum to achieve suction. Either way I hope you're up and running now and apologies for missing this one!

[@justinstrand1832]

love my drip system

[@stevenchidester9825]

Why is the filter always shown as upstream of the pressure reducer? My water source is directly from the municipal water meter -- not hooked to a hose bib from the house. The filter is located upstream of the valves and pressure reducers. About every six months, the plastic housing on the cannister filters (from multiple manufacturers) springs a leak. It has happened many times. I presume that is because it is not designed to be exposed to constant high pressure. If I use your Senninger PRLV pressure reducer placed upstream of the cannister filter and the 12 valves with various drip circuits, can I effectively protect the filter from bursting and avoid the necessity of 12 pressure reducers (one downstream of each valve).

[@dripdepot]

Heya Steven! I'll paste in the info I sent over on the other comment and add a little more :) The main reason is to filter the water to protect the regulator -- if a regulator gets too much debris in it, it can fail (and if that happens, you risk potentially exposing the downstream components to high pressure). Some filters don't work as well at lower pressure as well, which is a small secondary reason -- every filter causes a small pressure drop, and its best if that happens before the regulator than after. With many filters you might not notice, but others could cause a system performance drop. With all that said, the common hose filters should be able to handle up to about 75 PSI and still get a good lifespan out of it. One tip just in case: Be sure the filter is placed downstream of any timers or shut-off valves -- they're not rated for constant pressure so need to be relieved when the system is not in use (same with the regulator and backflow preventer). If yours are already downstream of shut-off valves they should be lasting you a good amount of time and something could be up with the filter(s). Additional info: It sounds like you might have them upstream of shut-off valves -- if so, they're under constant pressure which you want to avoid. There are filters and regulators rated for constant pressure, but they're the exception instead of the norm. If there's no way for you to move them so they're not under constant pressure, let me know, happy to link constant pressure filter and regulator (the PRLV is actually rated for constant pressure, but their other regulators are not).

[@stevenchidester9825]

@@dripdepot Thank you for the quick and detailed response.

[@taykrichert]

Your videos have been incredibly helpful in designing my drip system, but I have a question that i haven't yet seen covered. I have quite a long hose (100 feet) that goes from the faucet at my house down to my garden. At my garden, I have a Y-split where last year, I connected two different hoses - one was a soaker hose and the other was a normal garden hose. Can I install a timer at the house faucet, and the rest of the head assembly on one side of my Y-split at the garden? (This would allow me to keep a normal hose available in the garden on the other side of the Y-split, just in case.) Or, does the entire head assembly need to live at the faucet?

[@dripdepot]

Taylor, I think you're right about this not being in a video yet -- I'm going to toss it into our ideas list, thank you for the idea :) I believe you could do exactly as you're suggesting, other than the backflow preventer. So you can have: Faucet --> Timer --> Backflow Preventer --> Y Splitter --> (on the drip side) Filter --> Pressure Regulator --> Drip System You could probably put your filter after the backflow preventer near the timer if you wanted to filter for both sides, but it's also fine to place it after the Y splitter.

[@taykrichert]

@@dripdepot Thank you so much! Your videos are so extensive and helpful for a beginner - I couldn't have done it without you!

[@maheshrajkumarkrishnamoort1051]

Hi, I would like to add a water meter to this setup, where should I place it? Thank you, your videos are the best

[@dripdepot]

Thank you for the kind words! To some degree this depends on the type of water meter you get, but it's most likely going to go downstream of the timer to prevent it from being under constant pressure. Basically, somewhere it gets relieved of pressure when the irrigation system is not in use. In between the backflow preventer and filter or just after the filter are good locations where it can be accurate and be relieved of pressure when the timer is off :)

[@kent12456]

I’m on well water. Fine Sand is an issue. I’m thinking it’s probably a good idea to install the filter first. The sand will eventually damage the valve in the timer.

[@dripdepot]

You bet, if you go with a filter before the timer, be sure to get one rated for constant pressure -- those tend to be pipe threaded rather than hose, so an adapter at the inlet/outlet is needed, but nothing crazy, just a pipe x hose adapter. If sand or mineral content is the primary concern, a screen filter will serve best :)

[@markfujimoto3530]

On another site it was stated that the pressure regulator is installed before the filter and right after the vacuum breaker. Since Drip Depot's recommendation is to install the regulator after the filter, is there a right way to do this or is either way acceptable? Thanks for the excellent series of informative videos.

[@dripdepot]

I think that order would work, but I do recommend the filter come before the regulator. This helps prevent any debris from getting in the regulator. In addition to that, every filter causes some pressure drop, and it's best if that drop happens after the regulator than before. We've seen some strange behavior on low pressure systems when the regulator came before the filter. In most cases having the regulator first won't cause any major issues, but for best results, filter first :)

[@mnchnn]

Is there any difference between the tee filter and inline filter?

[@dripdepot]

No real functional difference :) The Tee filter works good for hose bibs that are low to the ground, the Tee shape allows the head assembly to go horizontal instead of vertical -- but other than shape, they're pretty much identical.

[@spencerk4387]

If the backflow piece is a constant stream/spray, how can I fix?

[@dripdepot]

Is this happening at system shut-off or is it constant during the watering cycle? If you're able to, a quick video showing it spraying (with a wide enough shot to see the rest of the head assembly at the hose bib) might help me determine if it's something wrong with the preventer, or something else that could be quickly fixed. You could send / share that video by sending an email to us here, I'll be happy to help :) help.dripdepot.com/support/tickets/new

[@spencerk4387]

@@dripdepotTicket submitted!

[@dripdepot]

@@spencerk4387 Perfect, thank you! I'll go take a look now, expect to hear from me shortly :)

[@bmello67]

Thank you for the video. Very instructive. I have a question: Is the head angle important? In your video, it is 45 °. Does it make any difference if it is horizontal or vertical?

[@dripdepot]

For the most part, it doesn't matter too much -- if it's fully horizontal the overall weight of the head assembly should be considered -- some are heavier depending on timer and filter in particular. In my home garden, my hose bib is only about 6 inches off the ground, so I had to make mine horizontal -- I rested it on some bricks just to make sure the weight didn't cause any problems with the threads on the hose bib :)